Roses in the Night
by Rachel Elizabeth Bender
Summary: A story about Barty Crouch Jr - a man who I believe is more human than monster, deep down inside. Give it a chance, maybe be surprised.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

A solitary figure stood alone, next to a beautiful fountain, with crystal clear water and a single mermaid in the middle, eternally spouting water out of her stone mouth, all outlined against a pitch-black, starry sky. The figure looked into the water. A young, milky-coloured face stared back. The figure sighed, and gazed up at the night-time sky. Stars twinkled down on him, but when he looked a second time, he didn't notice the stars. A huge sparkling green sign was in the sky, hovering over his own home, and his family. The sign began to move. For some reason, he didn't know why, the figure followed it. Through the streets and docks of his own town, he kept on walking, until the sign stopped. Over a house he didn't at first recognize, but then he knew. A house which had been marked throughout the country. The house of his smallest friend. The Dark Mark hovered over her house, and he began running toward it, yelling her name all the while. He finally reached the front door, pulled it open and-

Barty Crouch Jr. shot up in his bed. It was still dark outside, and it must have been around midnight. He silently slipped out of his bed and looked through his window. There was no Dark Mark, no presence of evil in Ottery St. Catchpole. And little Ruby, he knew, was still tucked away in her bed, sleeping peacefully. He climbed up onto the windowsill, and held his forehead in his hands. His nightmares had been growing steadily worse, and all about that little nine-year-old. Barty simply sat, contemplating them. Why was he dreaming about her? And in them, she was always in danger from Voldemort, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He thought for a while longer, until he realized - Ruby was his best, and probably his only, friend. That small girl inspired more joy in him than when his father came home.

And it didn't seem like she would have a lot reason to spread joy around to begin with. Her father was the famous Sirius Black, a man convicted of the murder of his best friend and his wife. Barty knew that somehow Ruby was connected with the Potters, though she rarely talked about it. Speaking of fathers...

He heard the slam of a door two floors below, and knew that his father was home. Doesn't really make much of a difference, now does it? he thought darkly. Then, he remembered: Ruby's birthday party was tomorrow. Or, today, as it were. She always held it at the beginning of her friend's summer vacations, as she was home-schooled. Ruby's actual birthday was in May. Barty leaned over to set his clock early, so that he could run and get her a present in the morning. Then, he slid back into bed and, almost apprehensively, fell asleep again.

!#$%^&*&^%$#!

BZZZZZZZZ! Barty sleepily awoke to the not-so-comforting sounds of his alarm clock. He was about to either hit the snooze button or smash it to bits, when he remembered. He jumped out of bed, dressed, and ran downstairs, only briefly stopping for a "Morning, Mum." and a slice of toast. The speedy sixteen-year-old rushed out the door, and ran for the nearest magical joke shop. Ottery St. Catchpole wasn't just a Muggle town. Barty stopped on his way to stare out at the sea. It was sunrise, and he couldn't remember seeing something more beautiful. Not now, anyway.

Once at Zorgo's, he picked up an extra-large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, a birthday card that played "Mack the Knife" when you opened it, and a play dagger that turned into a rubber chicken when you jabbed it into something. Ruby loved jokes. Barty walked back home to wrap his gifts. It was only seven in the morning, and he wasn't even sure if Ruby was up yet. He chuckled to himself as he remembered her coming up to him at the beach.

"Barty, you coming?"

"To what?"

"Ruby's birthday party."

"Oh really? When's Ruby's birthday party?"

"One week. She'll get mad and hex you if you're not there."

"Well, I'll be sure to remember that." Ruby often talked in the third person about herself. Especially around Barty. She always wanted to make him laugh, which was one of the reasons he always made sure to meet her, every day in summer. During the rest of the year, he was, of course, at Hogwarts, but they always exchanged cards at Christmas and Easter. Barty was caught out of his train of thought as someone yelled at him.

"Hey! Barty! Over here!"

"What?"

"Move it or lose it, weenie!" He grinned. Ruby was standing on one of the docks, a Muggle WaveRider moored to a post. Barty walked over.

"What's that?"

"One of Ruby's presents. She gets a ride on it with a friend. Want to come?" Barty looked down at his shopping bag.

"In a minute? I've got to take these, er, groceries home." Ruby smiled.

"Just make sure Ruby doesn't see 'em." Barty sprinted for the house. He stopped inside to quickly wrap them by magic (hoping his Mum wouldn't notice), and ran back to the docks.

"Okay, I'm good," he panted. Ruby threw him a life-vest.

"Buckle it good, or you'll get even wetter than I intended." Barty looked up.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Well, find out." Ruby jumped onto the WaveRider, and Barty seated himself behind her.

"Are you actually allowed to drive this thing?" Barty tried to ask, but Ruby was far on her way before he could finish. The child was a maniac! She did 180's and 360's at astounding and almost nauseating speeds. But Barty was having too much fun to be thinking about his stomach. The friends yelled and whooped the whole time.

They finally reached the dock. Ruby tried to get off at first, from the other side. After about five seconds she knew that she was going to fall, but she wasn't going down alone. Oh, no. Barty sensed this, and steadied himself, but Ruby dragged him in with her all the same, a huge splash sounding after a very short yell.

After they resurfaced, spouting water and laughing happily, they managed to reach the top of the dock. They sat there for a while, staring at the sky, a very strange sight to see. A sixteen-year-old boy and a nine-year-old girl, talking and getting along as if they were fifty-year-old chums at a bar. Ruby finally sat up.

"What did you get?"

"Hmm?"

"What did you get, that was in your bag?" Barty grinned.

"Those, um, were your presents."

"What did you get me, a lifetime supply of orange juice?" Barty laughed, recalling his fakey cover-up. Suddenly he realized the obvious.

"Where are all your other friends? We've been out here forever!"

"Yeah, I know. This was the Barty-and-Ruby-Ruby's-Party. The one tomorrow is the Barty-and-Ruby-and-all-of-Ruby's-other-friends-Ruby's-Party. Get it?"

"Not quite, but give me a while to think. Yeah." Ruby smiled.

"Gonna wait till then?"

"No, we can go get them, just let me dry off a bit more. Yup." Barty flopped over on his belly and gave a huge fake sigh. Ruby blew in his ear.

"Dry enough yet?" He swatted her away.

"I think so." They walked off toward Barty's house, where Ruby waited outside for Barty to get the presents. It was late afternoon by now. Barty normally never let Ruby inside, in the case that his usually out-of-humour father was there. Ruby didn't figure this out until she was eleven. Barty came back outside.

"Here." She opened the large package, and a huge grin split across her face as she saw the dagger and beans, and grew bigger yet when she opened the card.

"Cute. Very cute." She poked him with the dagger, and it turned into a rubber chicken. Ruby jumped back.

"Enguarde!" Barty hastily grabbed a grass stem.

"You're on!" They mock-parried back and forth across the yard, until Ruby finally poked Barty's stomach, yelling a gleeful "Touche!" and doing a victory dance all over his front yard. Barty yawned.

"I let you win, of course. Birthday girl always wins. Aren't you tired yet?" Ruby finally relented.

"Yeah, maybe a little. Fine, weenie. See you tomorrow." Ruby walked away, as the sky got darker.

"Wait!" Barty yelled, before she could get too far. "I'm taking you home, young lady. Who knows what freaks are hanging around." They laughed and talked all the way to Ruby's house, and Barty didn't have nightmares that night.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Fast-forward three years, exactly.

Barty Crouch trudged home from his job. Sure, he could have Apparated, but he needed time to think, before he got home, to the "hell-house." His father had gotten him a job at the Ministry, working with the Department for the Control of Magical Animals. Not exactly the job of his dreams, but he'd live. But he needed to think about something other than his unsatisfactory job.

People at work had been telling him that he looked strange lately, and maybe he did. He couldn't notice. His only and best friend was still Ruby Black, who was by now a twelve-year-old girl becoming more and more beautiful every day. Somehow, lately, Barty had noticed that she seemed to be more involved with the case of the Potters. She had bewitched a mirror to keep track of Harry, because Ruby was becoming a powerful witch, even at twelve years old. (Barty suspected that somehow, someone had told her to keep track of and watch out for Harry.) She could go at her own speedy pace, as she was going to be homeschooled until her fourth year. Ruby could perform some spells that Barty had difficulty managing, and a rare few that he just couldn't do, no matter how he tried.

And Barty had been having some weird feelings, that he didn't want to admit were about her. No, Barty wasn't sick in the head or perverted, he was just a guy. And Ruby seemed like much more than just a girl. It wasn't only her appearance that appealed to him, but it was her personality, and the way she could make him laugh and perk up any time he was having a bad day. And the more he thought about this, the more he couldn't deny it.

He finally admitted it - he loved Ruby Black. And this was so much more than the love he'd had for her ever since she'd befriended him. He loved her for her bravery and courage at overcoming the huge mess she'd been born into, he loved her for her constant laughter and gaiety (A\N: Stop laughing! You know what I mean!), he loved her for her compassion, and he loved her for being her.

It felt good to get it out, but now that he had admitted it, Barty could see no way that he could get on much longer. He was going to have to do something. Then, it struck him, as it often did on the day before this occasion: Ruby was having her Barty-and-Ruby party tomorrow. This was perfect.

By now Barty was at his front door. He slid his key into the lock and slowly opened it. He could hear faint grumbling in the kitchen. Father was home. Barty made his way up the stairs as quietly as possible, and stepped into bed. He didn't bother with supper, as he didn't feel like he'd have much of an appetite.

That night, he had another nightmare, this time that Ruby was slain by fourteen red roses, pricked to death by their thorns. And the worst part was that Barty had been the one to unleash them on her, without knowing what he was doing. And now all he could do was stand helplessly by and watch it. It was pure torture. And in his dream, Ruby was buried under a tombstone, in which was engraved not her name, but the Dark Mark. And then-

Barty opened his eyes and shot up in bed like a catapult. He was in a cold sweat all over. He tried to recollect the dream that made him wake up in such a rush, but found the details slowly slipping away from him, and by the next morning, he had forgotten that he had ever had such a dream.

!#$%^&*&^%$#!

The next morning, Barty woke up groggy and more than halfway unconscious. It was about ten in the morning, and the house was empty. Hi heavy footsteps thundered down the stairs, and it took all of his control not to dribble the milk from his cereal all down his front. This was going to be a very, very long day.

Barty finally made his way to Zorgo's, picking up his usual large bag of Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans (they had become tradition for Ruby's birthday ever since she turned nine), and this time the card sang "What a Wonderful World." But, instead of getting another joke present this year, Barty then made his way to the Muggle florist. He bought some rather pricey roses (a dozen, as this was the celebration of her twelfth birthday).

Barty started for the docks, because that was where they usually met, but on the way there, she instead saw Ruby sitting on the fountain in front of the cathedral. She was looking serious and out of character, but the expression changed so quickly when she saw Barty that he almost couldn't believe that it had been there mere seconds before.

"Happy Birthday, kid."

"Kid, yourself. You're still a teenager."

"And you're not. So there." Ruby humphed, grinning. Barty started out with the traditional question: "So, are we doing anything, or are we going to stare into an abyss?"

"There's an optimist for you." The traditional reply.

"Well?" Ruby started to look a bit guilty.

"Actually, I haven't planned anything. I don't know why. Disappointed, are you?" Barty shrugged, and sat down next to her. The fountain was comfortably in the shade, out of the hot June sun.

"Well, not really, no. Want your presents?" She smiled.

"As always." Barty's heart began to thump so loudly that he was afraid she'd hear it. What was she going to do when she saw the roses? Why did I do it? How could I have been so stupid? A thousand doubts raced through Barty's mind as he realized that he hadn't even thought about what she might do when she saw the roses.

The wrapping came off of the usual bag of Every Flavor Beans, and she opened the usual singing card. She grinned.

"Louis Armstrong? Again, cute. Very cute." Another tradition. Barty's forehead almost began to glisten as she slowly took the tissue paper from the last bag. Crimson began to show through the white. Ruby lifted out the roses, wide-eyed.

"Wow. Oh, wow. Thank you. I...man..." She looked up at Barty. He gave a weak smile. It was over; she liked them.

"Welcome," he barely squeaked out, relieved. Ruby resumed her position from when he first found her; serious face, hands back on the edge of the fountain. Barty looked down at her, and began to speak before he could stop himself.

"You know, Ruby, I've been, er, thinking lately...I don't really know how to say this..." Ruby slowly turned her head, and looked directly up at him, straight into his eyes. Her brown hair was more outlined than ever against the cool stone wall, and her deep blue eyes shone like the sun itself, to Barty. He looked back in her eyes, and found...complete understanding. Somehow, Barty knew that, without his even having to say anything, she knew everything. She knew about how he really felt. They locked their gaze, and they didn't look away. Ruby spoke softly.

"You know what, Barty?"

"Yeah, I know." And they kissed, the softest, most beautiful thing in the world. An ache began to grow deep inside both of their hearts as they realized the pain that this love would inflict upon both of them, but they didn't care about what happened to themselves, as long as they could make sure that the other was all right. They knew about the age conflict, the secrecy they would have to keep shrouded in, but they also knew that it was worth it. To love so deeply, even if it meant waiting for a while to come out of hiding, it was worth it. Always. And so, they kissed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

A crystal vase, tiger lilies inside, was being placed in the center of a table by long-fingered, pale, trembling hands. The cloth on the table rumpled, and while the left hand tried to straighten the rumble, the right hand lost controlof the vase. A slight *thud* was heard as the vase fell over onto the table. The hands wrung themselves.

"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Ruby stumbled away from the table, grasping a paper towel with her shaking hands. "Oh, I can't even put some flowers on the table; what's *wrong* with me? Just because I'm getting the Ministry letter today..." But this made her tremble even more.

It was December, and twelve-year-old Ruby was even more powerful in her sorcery than in June. She had actually been able to apply for a job at the Ministry of Magic, in the Office of Magical Communications and Societies, which dealt with things like the Owl Post, the use of Floo Powder, regulations for magical pubs, a lot of things like that. It had seemed quite exciting to Ruby, who was waiting in anticipation this morning for a letter of either acceptance or decline, the latter of which was almost unthinkable.

As Ruby began to mop up her mess, she thought about Barty. He had turned rather strange lately; exhaustion, sometimes creeping about in a habitual way (not even noticing that he was doing it), dark circles under his eyes, which looked almost dead, except for when they looked at her. No one yet suspected anything other than close friendship between the two, for who could; a nineteen-year-old and a twelve-year-old? Insane! And that's how Ruby was beginning to feel, too. She couldn't figure out what was going on, and every time she asked Barty, he simply said "Nothing. Don't worry yourself," and kissed her, as if to take her mind off the subject. It didn't work.

Just as Ruby was replacing the tablecloth, Luna, her owl, shot through the window, and dropped an envelope of parchment into her waiting hands. Shaking all over, she slowly tore open the paper, and pulled out the letter. Half a minute into reading it, she let out a joyous whoop! She had gotten the job! She was to report for work the next Monday, everything ready for her new job! This had to be a record of some sort!

"Mom! MOM! I've got the job! I'm an official Ministry member! M-O-M!" Then she remembered that her mother was gone. Oh well, at least I can tell Barty, she thought happily. Unfortunately, as she skipped out of the room, she tread on the dirty tablecloth lying on the floor, and fell flat on her face. "Well, that puts a bit of a damper on things," she muttered through the tablecloth, somehow still managing to grin. She eventually found her way out of the maze of soiled linen, and burst out of the house, running for the cathedral fountain, which was now where she and Barty met. It was freezing cold, and there was snow everywhere, but Ruby didn't care at all. She was a Ministry witch! She was virtually hopping with excitement when she reached the fountain, which was where Barty was supposed to be right now. But he wasn't.

For reasons unknown, Ruby got a horrid shudder when she saw that he wasn't at the fountain. She dismissed it quickly, however, when she began to make her way to Barty's house. The wimp probably got cold, she thought humorously to herself. It was an unusually dark day in Ottery St. Catchpole, and Ruby noticed that none of the lights were on in the Crouch household. It seemed dreary and foreboding, though she couldn't come up with an idea why (unless Barty's father had had a particularly bad day, which was saying something). Bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, half from excitement-triggered adrenaline and half to keep warm, Ruby rang the doorbell of the house. There was a bit of muffled muttering, and footsteps down the hall. She was blowing into her gloved hands and rubbed them together for friction, when Mrs. Crouch opened the door. Poor dear, she seems paler and more fragile than ever, Ruby thought. Mrs. Crouch seemed to have been crying, and when she saw Ruby at the front door, of course waiting for Barty, she burst into tears. This started Ruby a bit much.

"Mrs. Crouch! What's wrong; are you going to be okay? Is this a bad time? Mrs Crouch!" Her husbund, apparently having heard his wife, strode into the room. With the sternest look he could muster, he stepped up and put a hand on his wife's shoulder.

"Elena will be fine, Ruby. Er...please come in, we have a bit of news to tell you." Ruby got that horrid shudder again, with no clue as to why. She stepped inside, and slowly sat down on their stiff couch. Mr. Crouch seated his wife next to him, still heaving gigantic tears down her cheeks. Ruby's eyes widened. What had happened to Barty?

Mr. Crouch cleared his throat. "Barty...was caught in a bit of activity with other young people yesterday. He is being held by the Ministry, and his trial will commence tomorrow. You are invited to come, alone or with us." His wife wailed into her handkerchief. Ruby stiffened. This was most certainly not the whole truth.

"What kind of activity, Mr. Crouch?" He stiffened as well.

"It is not suitable for one of your tender years-"

"With all due respect, Mr. Crouch, I'm a Ministry member, I can handle it." She had been sure that she wouldn't have needed to play that card for a while. "Besides, I'm his best friend; I've got a right to know." Mr. Crouch nodded.

"All right, then. Barty was caught by Ministry wizards in the company of known followers of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named; the ones who had tortured the Longbottoms." Ruby thought her whole body had gone into seizure. She twitched and jerked for a few seconds before it sunk in. Her dear friend, her lover even, was most likely going to Azkaban for life. One of the worst parts was the she had been keeping up with the Ministry press cuttings; and knew every gory detail of that particular torture. But not for one second of the reeling of her mind did she believe that Barty had commited that horrible atrocity. Never, she swore to herself.

"Mr. Crouch...you don't believe, do you?" It was hard to get words out of her strangled tongue. Mr. Crouch shrugged, a cold shrug, if ever there was a thing.

"I don't think that I will ever know. The trial will be at eleven in the morning, tomorrow." Ruby's face was blank.

"I think I'll go to the trial by myself." She stood up, and headed for the door. On her way out, Mr. Crouch called out to her.

"By the way - congratulations on your approval."

"Yeah..." she muttered, completely numb from toe to mind. How could someone be so cold as to forget about this situation even to congratulate someone? She no longer minded the snow on the way home, because she couldn't feel anything except pain. Excruciating pain. Pain that she previously hadn't known existed. That night her head was empty, there was nothing to be thought about, and therefore nothing to dream about. There was no future, as far as she was concerned. Who cared now about some new job at the Ministry?

When Ruby got home, she laid out her nice skirt, vest, and shirt on the ironing board to fix tomorrow. She didn't even bother with undressing tonight. She simply flopped on her bed, clicked off the lamp, and silently cried herself to sleep.


End file.
